Title: The Lens & the Looker
Author: Lory S. Kaufman
Description (from Goodreads):
There’s hope for the future, but what about the past?
It’s the 24th century and humans, with the help of artificial intelligences (A.I.s), have finally created the perfect post-dystopian society. To make equally perfect citizens for this world, the elders have created History Camps, full sized recreations of cities from Earth’s distant pasts. Here teens live the way their ancestors did, doing the same dirty jobs and experiencing the same degradations. History Camps teach youths not to repeat the mistakes that almost caused the planet to die. But not everything goes to plan.
In this first of a trilogy, we meet three spoiled teens in the year 2347. Hansum almost 17, is good looking and athletic. Shamira, 15, is sassy, independent and an artistic genius. Lincoln, 14, is the smart-aleck. But you don’t have to scratch too far beneath the surface to find his insecurities.
These three “hard cases” refuse the valuable lessons History Camps teach. But when they are kidnapped and taken back in time to 1347 Verona, Italy, they only have two choices; adapt to the harsh medieval ways or die. The dangers are many, their enemies are powerful, and safety is a long way away. It’s hardly the ideal environment to fall in love – but that’s exactly what happens. In an attempt to survive, the trio risks introducing technology from the future. It could save them – or it could change history.
Review:
I received a free copy of this book for an honest review.
The Lens and the Looker, book #1 in The Verona Trilogy, is a young adult SF/fantasy. It is interesting at the beginning and it quickly becomes a book that is hard to put down.
This book is written well and is easy to follow. One thing I dislike about many science fiction and fantasy novels is that they are complicated and it’s difficult to picture the creatures or different worlds but that wasn’t the case in The Lens and the Looker.
Time travel is not a new concept but the circumstances that these characters are in aren’t common ones.
The characters are well developed and complicated. The three main characters, Hansum, Shamira, and Lincoln, do a lot of growing up in the time that the book covers. All three are “problem” teens to begin with but they all quickly show their true colors and you can’t help but like them.
I recommend The Lens and the Looker for young adults as well as adults.
About the Author:
Lory Kaufman lives and works in Kingston, Ontario, Canada. His post-dystopian novels and their positive bent come from his interest in environmentalism, sustainability, population studies, history, and wanting to have a serious discussion about the future. Plus, he likes to have a good time.
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